Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 HF5 works for air travel November 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Etymotic Research's HF5 in-ear earphones worked well on a transpacific flight. Seventy-five percent of engine noise was cancelled and most of speech was nicely muted. They were comfortable but had to be inserted "deeply" to attain reasonable bass and noise isolation. Worth the price and very compact.
 they don't last November 21, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I really liked my first pair of etymotic earbuds. I have had 3 pair. The first pair lasted about 6 months. So I thought, okay, maybe I was a little hard on them. The wires were fragile around the earbud. I bought another pair from Amazon but they only lasted 3 weeks. Amazon exchanged them free of charge without delay. But the third pair only lasted 5 days past the exchange date. So no more replacement. I was very careful with the last two pair. The wires held up on the last two pair but the sound stopped in one of the earbuds on both sets. Now I am out [..]. Needless to say, I will NOT buy another pair of Etymotics.
Not an ER4, but close, and very good for portable use November 12, 2008
For some time, I've owned an ER4p with the adapter that made it into an ER4s. Strictly from a sound viewpoint, these are super IEMs. But the physical design left much to be desired for carrying around with my IPODs, especially the Nano. The HF5 addresses the design issues. Samller, with a flexible 4 foot cable that, unlike the 6i, does not get tangled up. Easily wraps around my new Classic for easy transport. I use it with the Comply foam tips which are super comfortable and provide great isolation.
OK, you are saying, but how do they sound? To my ears, not at the level of the ER4p, but pretty damn close. Not for bass heads, but for people who want accurate presentation with minimal coloration. Much better than the ER6 and especially the 6i. I listen primarily to jazz, classical, vocals, classic rock.
As a comparison, I've also listened to the Shure SE310 which lists on Amazon for a $100 more than the HF5. The HF5 wins for clarity and impact. For $100 less, no contest.
Very Good November 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I recently came into the market for an upscale set of canalphones. The market is now flooded with options most notably from Shure and Ultimate Ear. Sennheiser just came out with three new models and then you've got Etymotic's offerings. Plenty of other brands as well: Westone, Vmoda, Sony, and more...
I chose the Hf5 because they offer really high levels of sound isolation at this price point. In practice, I find that the isolation they provide is excellent. I've had them about a week (about 20 hours of use) and on NYC streets, with music playing, I can't hear anything. On the subway I can feel the vibration of the train through my body but I don't hear any vibration through my ears. Finally, sitting in my living room, about 6 feet from the TV playing at a normal volume, I can't hear whats on the television. 5 stars in this department.
The sound quality is very good, but not amazing. I used to own Sennheiser cx300's (my cat chewed the cable) and they list at a substantially lower price point. (About 60 bucks nowadays, although I paid about 80 over a year ago) I don't feel that these etymotics sound $80 - $100 dollars better.
That being said - they sound very accurate. Acoustic music sounds excellent through these. I'm also really impressed with how percussion instruments sound. Take Guster for example, the bongos/conga percussion sounds really good here. Also I've found that on Jazz tracks, these sound excellent. They are also strong in the Classical department, I don't have a large classical library to evaluate them on, but I enjoy listening to Holst's Planets Symphony through these. Rock & Roll tracks sound good on these, but since the headphones are so accurate, I feel like you loose a little on the bass end. Howver, guitar heavy music is great. The same can be said for hip-hop and rap. I don't tend to listen to really heavy bass music, so for me this isn't a problem. For example, Jurrasic 5 doesn't tend to overload the bass end and I find these headphones excellent for listening to them. Finally, listening to electronica type tracks (daftpunk, zero 7, underworld) is enjoyable as well. The bass is tight but not overwhelming.
In the end, I like these because they perform well across a variety of musical types, being extremely strong in the Jazz department. They isolate the sound well and are comfortable to wear. They come with three different tip options as well as a carrying case. Incidentally, this case holds the headphones and my third generation ipod nano perfectly together. I feel that they are a little overpriced, which is partially a product of the fact that they are only available on amazon so there is no price competition. I'd also consider looking at the Shure se210 and they the lower priced Ultimate Ear Super.fi 3 and the more expensive Super.fi 5/Super.fi 5 Pro.
In the end I bought these because this was about the amount of money I was looking to spend, wanted sound isolation, and they looked cool. I'm happy with them.
 Brilliant Sound - Even better than the ER-4 October 16, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I've been using the Etymotic ER-4 for years and recently just bought the HF5. When I first got the ER-4's years ago, my friends first thought I was crazy for paying $275. But I listen to all my music while commuting on the train. If you loved music as much as I do, would you spend that much on a pair of speakers for your home stereo, or skimp and spend $50?
The ER-4 delivered like no other earphones, with not only the sound quality, but the noise reduction. As someone once said "It's the closest thing there is to injecting the music right into your brain." I completely agree. It took some getting used to 'listening' to the bass as opposed to feeling it, but now these are irreplaceable.
I have bought several pair of the ER-4's due to damage, losing them, etc. And it was time to replace my current pair. I decided to get Etymotics newest model, the HF5. I didn't expect a huge improvement over the ER-4's, but I was wrong.
At first I felt like the earphones didn't fit as well as the ER-4's. But then I realized that these actually go DEEPER into your ears than the ER-4's. And once I got them in there... WOW! The sound was actually so much bigger and brighter than the ER-4's. The ER-4's were great, but the HF5's is like watching High Definition Television compared to regular TV. The highs are brighter and the bass is bigger.
The only thing I wasn't happy with, at first, is the cord. They seem to have switched back to the more grabby rubbery style cord as opposed to the smoother plastic. While the rubbery feels nicer, I was worried it would grab onto my clothes too much. That hasn't been a problem so far.
They could have also included a few extra filters. The filters need to be changed every few months when they get gunked up with earwax. This model only includes one spare, and it would have been great to include more.
Other than that I would say these earphones are superb and worth every penny.
Eric Monse
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